Flying-machine.



M. D. FERRIN. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912.

1,107,921. Patented Aug.18,1914

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR W MOffO/V/ a fzWfi/N & un r Q I By ATTORNEYS M. D. PERRIN. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 29, 1912.

Patented Aug. 18, 191i 4 SHEBTSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES ,4 TTOHNEYS 00; H MW & m

u E VA? d s H M. D. FERRIN. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912,

k E 0 W W By Z'Ll/L-L1 1.. STTORNEYS WITNESSES M. D. FERRIN. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IVE SSE 8 comfortable in use.

PATENT OFFICE.

monom DANIEL rnanm, or snnr LAKE crrY, UTAH.

FLYING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914,

s insf iled iiovcm'ber 2a, 1912. Serial No. 734,075.; I

To all who m itmai/ concern:

Be it known that I,'MORONI DANIEB.F ER- am; a citizen of t e United States, anda resident of Salt La e Cit in the county of Salt Lake and Stateof tah, have invented anew. anduseful improvement infFlying- Machines, of which the following is a specification. v p

, My present inventionmelates to flying machines, andmore particularlyto that type of flying machine-whichjcompnses side wings movable up and down-and constituting the sole i'neans by which the machine is enabled to rise from the [ground and proceed either forward or backward. v

The object of my invention is to provide a; 11 ting machine of the above type, which will-- ed'ectively erform allof the essential movements of the more common ty jesofflying machines and which will besafPe, steady and.

,A further object of my invent-ion is; to. provide a,; .fiying machine havinga lower portion provided with a shock absorbing landing arrangement and a frame and oper ating mechanismwhich is so associated with;

the said landin arrangement asto be movable to constant y iacethe wind when standing on the ground a. manner-similar to; that of the well known weather vane.

'=A.still further obj I t: invention is, to provide a flying machine; .comprising..a' lower portion adapted to uniformly mamtain a perpendicular position, and arr .npper Portion t i lg thwp m i g w g and connected, as vto; ,be I. movable by g means M which are themselves 'simply-and readily, operable, to inclined positions whereby theimachine may beadapted toproceed e ther for-1 wardly or rcarwardlydependent uponthe'. direction of such inclination. y

Further objectsand the resulting advantages of my presentinvention, will be apparent. from the following description, in

which refel nfle is-Jmade to the accompanying drawings forming. a. part of this specl- 1 :verse section. through the The motor 1 seats between and to, the spacedu rights-2, the driven wheels F 1g. 4; Fig.6 is a horizontal sectional view looking downwardly into the frame and taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. .7 is a detail side elevation, partly bro-ken. insection, illustrating the connections of; the rudder; Fig. 8 is a. detail vtransv I parts shownin Fig, Land taken substantially on theline 8 8 .nf said figure; Fig. 9 ,is' a detail perspective view of one of the crank shaft support ng bracketsto be hereinafter specifically referred to; and Fig; 10 is a detail sectional view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating'the connections of one of the legs of the landing device and its outside spring.

1 ,Referring now specifically to these figures, 1. indicates themotor'which is firmly seated upon the platformdand which may @be v of any type suitable for transmitting power to thedriven wheels. 8.- I. prefer, however, that this motorshall be capable of con- ;trol by means of levers indicated at l and glt, one of whichv may be a speed control Jeyer and-the other. a clutch controllever,

a hexagonal shape with ,an f upright post '6 at each cornenthese posts-serving to sup-, port the wile Sid 6 of the car, orgbasket; As clearlydndicated inb the platform;

issofarranged that .a pair of-theposts fi rying apulley 7 at its upper end.

is secured 8 being mounte upon a shaft having bearingslin thesaid uprights. To the upper .Fignre l is a side elevation ot any inn-- proved'fiying machine Big. 2 isahfont elevation ther ot'; Fig. 3 i a partial front elevati nrd v r i l sect on,- cnn enla g d scale with. the extfQlIiQ 1 er and, lower l y p pp r ck w eel l9.;int rme 1ate th eelsfi t enpner sprock t wheel 1!) whiehis mounts l ed upon a transverseishaftdfl'fg-as clearly-11k portions broken away ;,-,Fig. i is aJ ngit diand rear. portions brokenaway; Fig, .5 1

these levers being. placed npon one side of lat-form -5 upon-:whiiih the motor 1 drtlwings, and particularlyinFig. 6, asof are in thesame plane with the longitudinal axisoi the machine, each of these posts car;

top plan viewtof those parts illustrated'in ds 2 o h up ig s 2.12s. p ml v :QQI nest ed the l0W91jfPQIftiQnB .0f spacedj up- 7 right ,4, the pivotal .aconnectmn being. formed by a; transversef ember 4, said; member 4", supporting a pen-of spacedrem ke h ls: 5,- con e ted by. chains-1.21

a d? connec e by p ocket/che o dicated in Figs. 1 and 3. At the outer ends of the shaft 10 last mentioned, which project beyond the uprights 4,-are small bevel gears 13 which are in mesh with larger bev'el gears 14 secured upon the crank shafts 15, which latter extend longitudinally of the machine upon opposite sides ofthe upper portions of the uprights 4 and are provided with cranks 15*, set at angles of 120 degrees with respect to one another, as clearly shown. The cranks 15 are connected, by connecting rods 16, tothe wings 17, 18 and 19, at points a short distance from the inner ends of the latter, the extreme inner ends of which are journaled upon a central longitudinal shaft 20, supported in a plane above that of the crank shaft by means which will be scribed. Thus when the shafts 15 are rotated through the connections just mentioned, the several wings 17, 18, 19 are forced to move up and down in a manner much similar to the movements of the wings of a bird in flight. It will be noted by reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that there are ten of the wings in all, these wings being arranged in sets of which the outer set, comprisin two side wings at the extreme forward an rear portions of the machine, are indicated by the numeral 17, the intermediate set comprising side wings next to those constituting the outer series 17, being indicated by the numeral 18, and the central set com prising only a single pair of wings which, however, are equal in area to the wings of each of the sets 17 and 18, being indicated by the numeral 19. The several sets of wings are so connected to the crank shaft that the wings of each set or series work in unison. The wings 17, 18 and 19 are further provided with downwardly opening valves which will automatically open when the wings are forced upwardly and close when the wings are forced downwardly. The valves are formed by the peculiar structure of the wings themselves, each of these wings consisting of a substantially rectangular frame 17 having a foraminous cov-- ering and provided u on itslower surface with a plurality of fa ric strips17 which are secured alon nous covering, t eir op osite edges being free. Extending angular y and downwardly from the under surface of each of the wings are also a series of rods 17 which limit the downward movementof the free edges of the strips 17 Thus when the wings are descending, the strips 17 will be held against the foraminous covering before mentioned whereby to prevent air from passing through the wings, while when the wings are ascending, the free edges of the strips will move downwardly against the rods 17 and thus permit air to pass practically unresisted through the wings.

hereinafter deone edge to the forami-v within which the inner ends of the wings are connected. The shafts 15 are further braced by means of the members which are secured to outstand upon opposite sides of the uprights 4, and one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 9, and also by means of the framelike brace 28, portions of which are secured to the said uprights as shown in Fig. 1. Each of the braces 30 is provided with parallel joined sides 30, the outer edges of which are provided with alined slots 3O through which the respective shaft 1.5 extends, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3.

As also indicated in this last-mentioned figure, and even more clearly in Fig. 1, the bevel gear 14 of the crank shaft is disposed between the sides 30 of the brace 30, and to this end one side 80 is apertured at '30" in order that the complementary gear wheel 13 may project into engagement with the gear wheel 14 previously mentioned. The

superstructure ofthe machine including the shafts 15 and 20, the wings,'and the several connections between these parts, is also braced by guys 32 extending'between the upper connected ends of the portions 21 of braces 21 and the upper extremities of the uprights 4 above the'shaft 20, and also by guys 33 below, which are connected between points of a longitudinal channel beam" 29 and the lower extremities of the uprights 4, as indicated in F ig. 1,.said channel beam 29 being connected to, and extending along the lower portions of the several braces 21.

A ball bearing joint, indicated at 36, is formed between the platform 5 and the upper portion 44 of the landing device, these parts being connected by a centrally dis posed king bolt 48" whereby the entire machine may turn upon the landing device, when at rest, so as to uniformly face the wind under the effect of the air current upon the rudders to be described.

A pair of rudders, indicated at 37 and 38,

are disposed in the rear of the car or basket and mounted upon a bracket 39 which is secured to the rear post 6. These are hingedly connected at 38 ,to members 38 whereby they may swing in horizontal planes, the i said members 38 being in turn secured to a transverse shaft 40 which is journale'd through the rear extremity of the bracket 39 and provided with an extension 40 which is movable between the upper and lower portions of the said bracket whereby to limit the rotative movement of shaft 40. The rudders may thus move up and down for a the legs 45 will purpose to be hereinafter described, and may be swung horizontally by means of their connections 42 with" foot pedals 43 mounted on the platform 5 immediately in front of the operators seat 5. The upper and lower edges of the' rudders a'r'e flanged for the purpose of stifiening and strengthening the same and also permit of their ready guidance to angular or inclined positions within the limits of movement of the member 40 whereby they may uniformly maintain positions parallel to the air current when the lower portion-of the'machine swings slightly as it will be Very, likely to do in use. The upper ortion 44 of the landing device before re erred to is provided upon'its under surface with recesses extending inwardly from its edge and in which are piv otedthe upper beveled ends ofdivergent de-' pending legs 45. The pivots 46; of legs 45, as "particularly indicated in Figl'lO, are so arranged that the said beveled" ends of these legs prevent the, same from inward movement to perpendicular position, and the several springs 47 and 49 tend to'resist outward movement or spreading of. the legs, springs 47 being secured to the up r portion 44 of the landing device and the natureof bow springs; the: free outer ends of which bear inwardly against outer surfaces of the several legs, and springs 49 being in the nature of retractile coil springs which are secured between points upon the inner surfaces of the legs. and the lower ends of the guying bolt 48. Thus when the machine lands upon the ground, s read and take up the shock, after which the figs will be adually drawn to-their normal'positions t rough the further action of the'springs.

It is intended that the platform'5, in addition to supportin the operator, shall have suitable seats or enches 5 for passengers, and space and equipment for containing such cargo as the machine vmay adapted to support.

Adjacent the lower ends of the uprights 2, is a framelike brace 25 which may be clearly seen in Fig. 1 and which is adapted to sup port the steering whehl 26, and the shaft thereof around which are wrapped the ends of the tilting ropes or cables 27 and 28, these ropes being reeved over pulleys 29- supported between the uprights 2, and thence beneath the pulleys 7 beforement-ioned, from which they extend upwardly to the forward and rear ends of the channel iron 29, forming a part of the superstructureas before described.

Thus from the foregoing, it may be readily seen that by virtue of the rudders 37 and 38, when in their normal positions, as indicated in Fig. 6 the flying machine proper may uniformly maintain itself in a position facing the wind, inasmuch as it is mounted to g my freely rotate with respect to its landing frame upon which it rests at this time. It will be further seen that'the machine proper is in two general divisions, the first of which includes the supporting basket forthe operator, the passengers, the cargo and equipment, and the uprights 2, the other division including the uprights 4 and the superstructure which is readily tiltable to a desired degree of inclination either forwardly or rearwardly through the tilting ropes or cables 27 and 28, under the control of the operators wheel 26, as clearly described.

- Starting from the position shown in Fig. 1 when the crank shafts 15 are rotated through their connections with the motor 1, as previously described, the wings 17, 18 and 19 are swung upwardly and down wardly at a speed which is intended'to'be regulated by the levers 1 and 1", and the machine is caused to rise in a perpendicular line.- Then the desired height has been reached, and the speed of movement of the wings reduced until their ascending power equals the combined weight of the machine, the same will be maintained at a standstill in mid air. When it'is desired toprocee'd forwardly or rearwardly, the superstruczture contained inthe wziugsistilted forward .or'ba'ckwardly, as the case may be through actuation of the tilting ropes 27 and 28, and when the speed of movement of the wings is again increased, the machine will maintain its altitude and move in a horizontal line, or at an ascending or descending angle as desired, being guided to the right or left by using either the right or left rudder. The motion of the machine is to be stopped by gradually reducing the tilt of the superstructure containing the wings, and at the same time drawing both of the rudders 37 and 38 to positions at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of the machine which will cause them to catch the air, and at the same time efi'ectivel prevent the lower portion of the machine from swinging or vibrating to and fro. In this way, a steady ual reduction in speed may be effected. en the machine has been stopped in mid-air, a safe landing may be effected by correcting the tilt of the superstructure and diminishing the power to a point wherein the ascending-power of the wings is less than the weight of the machine, thus permitting the machine to descend at a desired speed to the earth, in a perpendicular line, the landing arrangement permitting the machine to alight safely and with little or no shock.

If it is so desired, a flexible parachute of the ordinary type may be normally carried in a folded position around the upper portions 4 of the uprights 4, above the plane of the wings, and adapted to be released when needed so as to automatically assume an operative position, in which the parachute connecti0ns with the said upper portions of the uprights. 4, will appear as indicated at 50 in Figs. 1 and 2.

1. A flying machine of the character described comprising a main frame, spaced uprights rigidly connected to, and rising from said main frame, a superstructure consisting of spaced upright members pivotally connected adjacent their lower ends to the upper ends of the said main frame uprights,

'and a horizontal member rigidly connected to the upright members intermediate the ends of the latter, a central shaft mounted parallel with and above the horizontal member, operating wings having their inner ends Inovably connected to the said shaft and arranged to swing in vertical planes, crank shafts mounted below and at opposite sides of the horizontal member and having connection with the said operating wings,braces connected to the vertical and horizontal members of the superstructure for supporting the saidshafts, connections between the ends of the superstructure and the main frame for tilting the former with respect to the latter, a motor mounted in the main frame, and driving connections between the motor and the crank shafts including transmission gears concentric with the pivotal connection between the main frame and the superstructure, all for the purpose described.

2. A flying machine of the character described comprising a main frame, a superstructure carried by the main frame consisting of vertical and horizontal supporting members, and a plurality of braces, a shaft mounted horizontally in the superstructure, operating wings carriedby the shaft and arranged to swing in vertical planes, means for actuating the said wings, means .or tilting the superstructure with respect to the main frame, a landing frame with which the main frame has swivel connection and. a rudder mounted on the main frame in order that the latter and the superstructure may be normally maintained in position facing the wind.

MORONI DANIEL FERRIN.

Witnesses:

H. B. SPRAGUE,

VERA BERNNION. 

